When the voting results were released for the Eastern Conference Final MVP, it was nearly unanimous.
Nearly.
The panel of nine – which consisted of local and national writers and broadcasters – returned eight votes for Boston Celtics wing Jayson Tatum, giving him the honor. But one voter, Tim Bontemps from ESPN, cast his ballot for Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.
His decision was roundly criticized. Not so much because of the performance itself – it's hard to dispute Butler was the best player in the series – but because the Heat had lost the series. While not written in the rules that you can’t vote for a player from the losing team to be a playoff series MVP, it basically never happens.
Appearing on the “Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective” podcast, Bontemps defended his decision by giving his rationale.
“I was going back and forth all game," Bontemps said. "I was asking a bunch of people. I was texting Brian, I was asking our buddy Nick Friedell, who was sitting next to me, I was asking a lot of people. So I was going back and forth between Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler. And Nick I thought actually summed up the reason why I ended up voting for Jimmy – which I was honestly surprised, I thought he’d at least get another vote or two. I did not think I’d be the only one who voted for him.
“Nick said ‘When you come back a few years from now and think about this series, the only thing you’re going to think about is Jimmy Butler. Which, I think he’s right. That Game 6 Jimmy Butler had is one of the single-best games I've ever seen anybody play, he’s the only reason that series was competitive, and the two guys on the Celtics were really good, but they both had rough moments throughout the series, I didn’t think either one of them really stood out.
"I thought about it all game, and I just thought Jimmy was the most important player in that series by a significant amount. The Heat were completely overmatched anytime Jimmy wasn’t involved. … With 17 seconds to go (in Game 7), Jimmy Butler pulls up for a 3-pointer to put Miami up by one. If that shot goes in and Miami wins the game, every single person votes for Jimmy without hesitation. He was by far the best player in the series, so because he misses one shot, he’s now completely eliminated from consideration? I just don’t think that’s how it should be.
“I thought all three guys were reasonable choices, I’m honestly surprised that nobody else voted for Jimmy, I thought he’d get a couple of votes. I thought Jaylen would get a couple of votes, I didn’t think it would be 8-1. I was surprised.”
Overall, the issue is more about the unspoken guidelines around voting than Butler’s deservingness. Again, most would agree that Butler was the best player in the series – and the lifelessness of the Heat when he was struggling to be effective in Games 3-5 because he was injured validates that.
However, winning obviously matters. And as valiant of an effort as Butler put out, the Heat didn’t win. Until there’s a seismic shift in voting habits, that will almost always preclude him from getting substantial consideration for those types of honors.
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